Friday, March 13, 2009

Peanut Butter Sandwich Experimentation

I love all things peanut butter. I mean, you could slather some peanut butter onto a pile of dirt and I'd probably try to eat it. With fruit, toast, ice cream, vegetables, muffins, chicken, cookies, chili -- you name it, and I bet that peanut butter could only make it better.

So when the Peanut Butter Boy revealed his fifth Great Peanut Butter Exhibition, I knew I had to participate. He called for bloggers from near and far to submit their favorite peanut butter sandwich concoctions. I'm sure he's received entries from the standard PB & J to completely unique and crazy contrivances. I can't wait to see the results!

As for my own submission . . . I had a little trouble. Trouble deciding which sandwich to enter, that is. I created three sandwiches -- well, wraps, really -- and they're all so different that I'm not sure what to send in. You've seen a couple of these on a previous post, but here is some more detailed information on each. Which is your favorite?

For my sandwich/wrap, I wanted to come up with something one-of-a-kind. However, I also wanted to try some old standbys that I've heard about but never eaten myself. The wrap that represents this from my peanut butter trifecta is . . .

~ PB & P, a.k.a. Peanut Butter and Pickle Wrap ~

Gross-sounding, right? That's what I first thought when I heard my school's library discussing her favorite peanut butter sandwich combos. She mentioned peanut butter and jelly . . . peanut butter and bananas . . . peanut butter and honey . . . and then PB & P. Strange and revolting as the idea, seemed, though, I wanted to try it. So I did a little research and it seems that this type of sandwich is not as uncommon as you might think. Also known as a Poor Man's Sandwich, it often incorporates mayonnaise and onions as well. I modified my recipe to the following:
  • 1 whole wheat tortilla
  • 1 T peanut butter
  • 1 spoonful Quark (or mayo of your choice)
  • 1 dill pickle, sliced into long strips
  • romaine lettuce
I spread the peanut butter on the tortilla, then put the Quark over that. I layered the pickle slices and romaine on one half of the tortilla, then folded the tortilla over. Voila! A PB & P wrap! And you know what? It didn't taste half bad. However, I wanted my Great Peanut Butter Exhibition entry to be more unique, so I then created . . .

~ PB & P (take two), a.k.a. Peanut Butter and Pear Wrap ~


Ah, now that's more like it! I've never heard of pairing pear with peanut butter before. But it sounded intriguing, and as I had a Costco-sized haul of pears quickly ripening in my fridge, I decided to go for it. My recipe for this sandwich incorporated:
  • 1 whole wheat tortilla
  • 1 T peanut butter
  • 3-4 slices of a ripe pear of your choice
  • 1 tsp dried (OR 1 T fresh) rosemary
  • romaine lettuce
Just as with the first sandwich, I spread the peanut butter over the tortilla. Next I sprinkled about half the rosemary over the peanut butter before arranging the pear slices on one half of the tortilla. I sprinkled the remaining rosemary over the pears, topped it with some romaine, and closed the wrap up. The result was delectable. The juiciness of the pear and the spice of the rosemary melded well with the peanut butter, lending a truly singular flavor. I highly recommend combining pear and peanut butter, and plan on trying again myself. In fact, I already have with . . .

~ Curried PB, P & P, a.k.a. Curried Peanut Butter, Pumpkin, and Pear Wrap ~


Another one-of-a-kind combination! This time I used a curry-flavored peanut butter. I mixed in some pure pumpkin puree and threw some pear slices in as well to lend a variety of textures. As if this wasn't tasty enough raw, I went ahead and toasted it for some extra crunch, and warming the wrap gave it some extra flavor, too! Besides toasty peanut butter is never bad. To make this sandwich, you'll need:
  • 1 whole wheat tortilla
  • 1 T curry peanut butter*
  • 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
  • 2-3 pear slices
  • 1 tsp pumpkin butter
Spread the curry-flavored peanut butter on the tortilla. Cover that with a thick layer of pumpkin, and cover that with a thin spread of pumpkin butter. Arrange the pears over half the tortilla, fold the tortilla over, and toast until the edges begin to brown and the center of the wrap puffs up. (*If you don't have curry-flavored peanut butter, simply mix in 1-2 teaspoons of your favorite curry powder -- or a combination of cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, and chili powder -- with a Tablespoon of plain peanut butter.)

There you have it -- three totally tasty, completely nutritious, and perfectly filling peanut butter sandwiches (er, wraps). But which one rises above the rest and gets sent off into the wide world of peanut butter sandwich competitions? It was a tough choice, but the curried peanut butter, pumpkin, and pear wrap ended up making the cut. The combination of savory peanut butter with the subtle sweetness of the pumpkin and pear put this concoction over the top. Plus, a toasty, crunchy wrap is never a bad thing.

So which of my three wraps sets your taste buds tingling? And do you have a favorite peanut butter sandwich creation of your own? Why not tell me about it? Or, better yet, submit it to The Great Peanut Butter Exhibition! The deadline is March 15, so you've still got a few more days.

3 comments:

  1. My other half adores eating toasted sandwiches of peanut butter with sliced tomato. I'll have to get her to try this variation!

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  2. why am i just finding this now Beth??? (0: i love it.

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  3. Haha thanks, Missy.

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